


Obfuscation

by ozsaur



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen, challenge, sentinel_thurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-04-23
Updated: 2004-04-23
Packaged: 2017-10-06 10:56:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozsaur/pseuds/ozsaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All about trust.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Obfuscation

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my earliest posted stories. That should be a warning right there. Written for the sentinel_thurs Challenge: Obfuscation.

When Blair came out of his bedroom wearing what Jim liked to consider his Seduction Clothes, Jim sat up and tossed his book onto the coffee table. Between wearing that outfit and humming some tune, Sandburg looked way too pleased with himself for Jim's peace of mind.

"So, you patched things up with Maria?"

"Sure did. Why wouldn't I?" Blair didn't bother closing the bathroom door and Jim could hear him groping around in the medicine cabinet.

"Oh, I don't know. In my experience, when you stand a woman up on a date, you generally don't get another one."

"It was just coffee. How many times do I have to tell you that?" He breezed out of the bathroom on a cloud of cologne, the one that he only wore when he was gearing up to get lucky.

"It doesn't matter if it's coffee or dinner or a movie. You didn't show up."

"I explained things to her, she understood."

"You're kidding! She didn't mind that you didn't show up because you were flirting with the deli girl and lost track of time?"

"C'mon, that's not what happened."

"That's exactly what happened. You were supposed to bring me pastrami on rye before meeting Maria. I ended up getting stale turkey on white bread out of the machine."

"For pity's sake, Jim. Are you ever going to let me live it down?" Blair walked over to where Jim was sitting and leaned over to grab his shoulder. With great solemnity he intoned, "I swear on my left butt cheek that I'll never flirt with Sara at the deli so long that I don't have time to bring you your pastrami on rye again."

Jim grabbed a couch pillow and lobbed it at Blair's head. Laughing, Blair jumped back and brought his hands up to fend off the assault.

"Hey, don't mess up the do. I want to give Maria a chance to mess it up," He leered with full eyebrow wriggling and Jim rolled his eyes.

Blair went into his bedroom and came out a moment later shrugging into his leather jacket. Yeah, he was pulling out all the stops tonight. Maria must have been more pissed off than Sandburg was letting on.

As he headed to the door, Jim had to ask, "Hey, if you didn't tell Maria about the deli girl, what did you tell her?"

"What do you think I told her?" For the first time, Blair sounded a little defensive, " I told her there was a long line at the deli and there was traffic and stuff."

"And she bought that?"

"There's nothing to buy, it's the truth. At least most of it. What's your problem anyway? You're making a bigger deal out of it than Maria."

"No big deal, Chief."

Blair grabbed his keys from the table by the door then started patting down his pockets making sure he had everything he needed.

"I had no idea pastrami on rye was so important to you."

"It isn't." He picked up his book and began leafing through the pages until he found his place. He knew Sandburg was looking at him but Jim kept his eyes on the page where he left off.

"I don't have time for this. I've got to pick Maria up."

"So go."

"I will."

He walked out the door, muttering under his breath about Jim's major malfunction.

Jim knew exactly what the "malfunction" was. After six months, he still wasn't sure how far he could trust Sandburg. He was turning out to be one of the best partner's Jim had ever had and he was handling the Sentinel thing far better than Jim had initially hoped for.

But Sandburg had a slippery way with manipulating the truth, especially with the people in his personal life. He hadn't lied to Maria, exactly, just shaded the truth a bit.

Which made him wonder how often Sandburg shaded the truth with him.

End


End file.
